Palladium Books® Weekly Update – Sept. 12, 2014

By Kevin Siembieda

Life at Palladium Books remains busy and more than a little crazy. Every day we have an agenda – a list of things to do – and every day there seems to be something that demands our immediate attention and pulls us in different directions. For example, we wanted this Update posted on Thursday. That was not possible. To get one posted today, Friday, it will have to be less comprehensive than we wanted it to be. Fear not, there will be more in the next Weekly Update.

UPDATE: To China and back

Wayne Smith’s trip to China was a productive one. While he was there, the Third Container of product for Robotech® RPG Tactics™ was packed and prepped for shipping. It leaves port this coming Monday (September 15). The Second Container is already at sea and on its way to us. Containers Number Four and Five will shipping soon, maybe even together. Everything seems to be moving along better and faster. Hopefully, these next few containers are not held up at Customs!!!

Wayne enjoyed the trip, learned a good deal about the factories and manufacturing processes, and he wished the visit was longer. I hope Wayne will post a number of photographs here and on the Palladium Facebook Page. Poor Wayne has been dragging and pretty jet-lagged the first part of the week. It wasn't until Thursday and today that he appears to be mostly back to his old self and back up to speed.

Alliance Open House

Jeff Burke and I attended the Alliance Open House, returning late Monday night. Alliance is Palladium’s largest distributor, and the event is always worthwhile because we can talk directly to the retailers who carry our products.

The stores, like many of us, are anxious to get Robotech® RPG Tactics™. Several mentioned they had gamers “frothing at the mouth” to get the game. That is the description that several retailers used to describe the excitement for the release of Robotech® RPG Tactics™, not ours. Though we are thrilled to hear it.

A few of the retailers were extremely excited to see sample products and know that it was coming to them in a couple months. We received many compliments over the quality of the game pieces, their detail, how nicely they paint up, how nice the box and other packaging looks, and on and on. It was very gratifying to see their enthusiasm for the game. Just as we had heard from fans at Gen Con, many retailers believe this will be a hot selling product, with some already expressing concern that Palladium will sell out of its initial run before Christmas. I do not think that will be the case, but honestly, we will not know until the game hits the store shelves.

I was surprised and pleased by the number of retailers who had participated in the Kickstarter, themselves, and who planned to learn the game in advance to set up gaming events and demos at their stores. Awesome. Of course, Palladium is planning to support and expand the game line (the Masters Saga, New Generation, etc.), and establish organized play (OP) down the road, but it was nice to see so many stores anticipating OP and already planning demos and gaming events on their own.

UPDATE: Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™ Hardcover – Available now

UPDATE: Rifts® Sourcebook: Coalition States™ – Heroes of Humanity™

Carl Gleba is working on his contributions to the book, and so is Matthew Clements. I’m making notes whenever I can. This has already spun off ideas for other future Rifts® books.

UPDATE: Future Visions™

People are blown away by the Charles Walton art book, Future Visions™ – The Artistry of Charles Walton II, available now. I’ve even had people ask how come it is so inexpensive at $13.95. The answer is simple, because we want people to buy it without having to spend an arm and a leg. Check it out.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #67 – Available now!

Don’t forget, The Rifter® #67 is available now. It is another great issue, with material for Heroes Unlimited™, Splicers® and more! And the Mike Wilson Heroes Unlimited™ cover is powerful and dynamic. See the complete description elsewhere in this Update and order yours today.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #68 – Autumn Issue

I approved the pencil sketch of the cover by John Zeleznik and he should be painting away. Wayne has yet to select the material for it, but it should include some “official” Megaverse® in Flames™ source material that was trimmed from the book.

UPDATE: Dead Reign™ – Graveyard Earth™ Sourcebook

I want this bad boy out by Halloween. ‘Nuff said.

UPDATE: Palladium Fantasy®: Bizantium and the Northern Islands™

Matthew Clements’ initial edit and rewrite is done, and Chuck Walton’s cover is being tightened and painting should start soon. I have yet to assign the artwork, though I have sent out some reference books to a new artist and been in contact with three others. This will be a Fall 2014 release.

The Northern Gun™ TWO limited edition print has been well received. This print is dynamic. See the complete description elsewhere in this Update; Cat. No. PR811. The NG-1 (Walton) and NG-2 (Zeleznik) prints look nice framed and hung on the wall together.

UPDATE: Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook One

– Formerly titled ‘UEEF Marines’

I have not had a chance to start this yet. Still planning for a 2014 release.

UPDATE: Robotech® RPG Tactics™

This week’s Robotech® update is a very brief one. Much more to report next week.

Quite a few game sets and print sets have shipped. I have spent many hours signing and numbering prints.

We are working with Harmony Gold to provide a PDF of the core rules.

As noted when talking about Wayne’s trip to China, two containers are on their way with more coming.

REMINDER, we are only shipping out Wave One products right now. You will receive Wave Two items at a later date. And yes, Wave Two items will be coming.

Wave One Items

Because there has been some confusion, here's the complete list of Wave One items. Anything not listed here will be delivered in Wave Two.

(Note from Wayne: Despite what Kevin says, I'm still jet-lagged, but here are a few pics from my visit to the factory where printing and final packaging take place. More photos next week.)

UPDATE: Palladium Open House – May

As always, I am surprised by how many Palladium super-fans plan to come to the 2015 POH, May 14-17, from all around the world. Awesome. I just think it is so cool to be able to meet and hang with fellow gamers from across the US and Canada to faraway places like England, Germany, Brazil, Uruguay, and elsewhere. Wow. As always, we are hoping to make it the most fun Open House ever. Spread the word about the Palladium Open House. We want to celebrate with a packed house and many guests and events.

I will try to post an update soon. Please order your admissions tickets and place hotel reservations sooner than later. We need to know attendance numbers so we can have a sufficient number of games and events to satisfy everyone! Remember, attendance is limited to 300 people, so order soon to guarantee a slot.

2015 is the Rifts® 25th Anniversary – what to do?

It has come to my attention that 2015 is the Rifts® 25th Anniversary! We were so busy we celebrated Palladium Fantasy® and Heroes Unlimited™ anniversaries in a quiet, small manner. I feel like we should do something BIG for Rifts®.

But what?

I am looking for ideas. Ideas for special Rifts® products and ways to celebrate at the Palladium Open House. With the Palladium Open House in May 2015, it seems like we should do something special to commemorate 25 years of Rifts®. I mean, Rifts® is Palladium’s biggest, most successful game line ever! I am very open to suggestions and ideas from our gaming community.

Storms and no Internet

Like I said, it is a wild ride here at Palladium. On top of everything else, severe storms blew through lower Michigan last week, uprooting trees and causing floods and wind damage. We were lucky. Palladium lost power only for a brief time (tens of thousands of people were knocked out for up to a week), but we lost our Internet connection for FOUR days! It went out Friday afternoon and was not restored till Monday evening.

Otherwise, I have been catching up on a number of business matters and dealing with correspondences, advertising/promotion, and looking into a potential new licensed property that I think our fan base would enjoy. We have also been kicking around ideas for a variety of RPG sourcebooks for more than a few of our game lines. I’m hesitant to say what just yet, but it is all great stuff that we know fans want. Some are items that people have been wanting for years. Yes, that includes sourcebooks for Beyond the Supernatural™ and Palladium Fantasy®, but that’s just a few items. Matthew Clements and I brainstormed ideas for Rifts® that have turned into at least two new sourcebooks for 2015. One about the Vanguard’s secret role in Coalition operations and defenses, along with Coalition Revenge Teams that travel the world on missions that are disavowed. And another dealing with a new CS conflict and political intrigue in North America. We are so hot on that first idea (tying in to the Minion War/Megaverse® in Flames) that Matt started working on it today! And there’s plenty more afoot.

More next week. Have a great weekend and game on!

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer and Game Designer

NEW! Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two – signed & numbered print

The first batch of prints went to a select number of the Megaverse Insiders, but starting with Number 102, you too can get a signed and numbered Northern Gun™ Two Print. It is the striking John Zeleznik wrap-around cover without any text or logo to obscure the artwork. Limited to a total of 290 copies. Suitable for framing.

Limited to 290 signed and numbered prints; 101 of which have already gone to Megaverse Insider crowdfunders. The remaining 189 prints are available while supplies last.

The artwork is by the dynamic John Zeleznik.

Each is signed by Charles Walton (artist), Matthew Clements (author) and Kevin Siembieda (author and publisher) in silver.

NG-1 Print by Chuck Walton – Cat. No. PR810 – is also still available – $10.00

NEW! Future Visions™

– The Artistry of Charles Walton II – Available now

We call it Future Visions because it very much gives you a glimpse into the future of what is coming from Palladium Books. It is jam-packed with black and white artwork and concept art for several of the upcoming Splicers® sourcebooks and a couple other Palladium projects. Things we are excited about and want you to be, too. People can’t seem to get enough of Chuck Walton artwork, so here is an entire 96 page book filled with it. Some of the art is finished pieces, many others are concept art that may be tweaked and altered, or not used at all. Much of it is material you would never ordinarily see. If you like this book and it sells well, it can be the first of several Charles Walton II art books (and other artists?). We hope you enjoy it. It was a fun, quick and easy project to throw together. It didn't impact our schedule more than a few days.

NEW! Rifts® World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames™ – Available now

The Minion War is here and the demons seek to conquer Rifts Earth. They are bringing demonic armies by the tens of thousands across the dimensional divide, unleashing plagues, seeking out magic artifacts, recruiting monsters and mortal allies, and testing their strength against Earth’s military powers. Worse, they are building Hell Pits so that they can unleash Hell on Earth! Not to be outdone, the Minions of Dyval are doing all the same things. Clashes between demons and Deevils are increasing every day and turn into titanic free-for-alls when Earth forces join the battle. As demonic supernatural forces ramp up, enslave people and wreak havoc across the globe, the question becomes: Is this the beginning of a new Dark Age?

NEW! Megaverse® in Flames™ “Gold Edition” – Available now

This book has so much cool stuff in it, we thought it deserved the Gold Hardcover treatment. Imprinted gold foil on black leatherette, signed by the Palladium staff, Matthew Clements and Chuck Walton. (You can get Carl Gleba’s signature at the Palladium Open House next May.)

Limited to 300 signed and numbered copies.

Signed and numbered on the credits page by Kevin Siembieda and the Palladium staff. We’ll get Matthew Clements and Chuck Walton to sign as well.

Black leatherette cover with gold foil imprinting.

Interior pages are exactly the same as the softcover edition.

Written by Carl Gleba. Additional text by Kevin Siembieda.

Gold Edition cover art by Nick Bradshaw.

192 pages – $50 while supplies last – Cat. No. 876HC – only available directly from Palladium Books. Sorry, this product is not available in stores.

Available now.

NEW! The Rifter® #67 – Available now

Every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory for players and Game Masters to generate new ideas and find new avenues of adventure. It provides useful, ready to go source material you can just drop into your ongoing games. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. And the many new characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, villains, monsters, adventures and ideas for one setting can be easily adapted to any Palladium setting. Every issue has material for Rifts® and at least 2-3 other Palladium game lines. And don’t forget, most of the material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

The Rifter® Number 67 includes:

Heroes Unlimited™ – Power Behind the Throne – by Alex Tullock. Get a glimpse at some of the true powers pulling the strings of governments and their superhumans. Spice up your Heroes Unlimited™ campaign with some political, spy and espionage elements along with supermen. Plenty of ideas for adventures, and includes NPCs and Hook, Line & Sinker adventure ideas.

Palladium Fantasy RPG® “Paper Miniatures” is a new digital product line created by artist and writer “Madman” Mike Leonard. They are designed as full color paper game pieces that you print on a card stock, cut out and slide into a paper stand (all part of the package you purchase). A FREE Sample and the first two sets of Palladium Fantasy RPG® Paper Miniatures are available NOW on DriveThruRPG.

In a week or two a Great Horned Dragon will be added, and two more Volumes are coming in the next month or two. And don’t forget, first edition rules of the Palladium Fantasy RPG® and several sourcebooks (and 90+ other titles including the Rifts® and Splicers® RPGs) are also available as PDFs. Have fun.

NEW! Dead Reign™ Sourcebook 5: Graveyard Earth™ – Ships Fall

When the dead rise and communications and power grids collapse, nothing matters except your own survival. But what about the rest of the world? What’s happening in other places? Has any government survived? Is anyplace safe? Dead Reign™ Graveyard Earth™ tries to answer those questions and others. And in doing so, provides gamers and G.M.s with more fuel for adventure.

Zombie World Tour – How the Wave and the Zombie Apocalypse have played out across the globe.

A Thousand Miles of Dead – Getting home from abroad in a world of zombies.

American military forces overseas and their journey home.

Alternative campaign settings and Random Campaign Setting tables.

Random Encounters by Region and Random Survivor Leaders.

Level of Zombie Threat table. Zombies and exposure to the elements.

Walled cities and other Alternative Safe Havens.

Car problems, aircraft landing conditions and encounters on the road and by sea.

Journey to the Island Kingdom of Bizantium, situated at the far northern peak of the Palladium World. Its vast fleets of merchant vessels and warships travel the high seas and bring untold wealth back to the kingdom, as well as exotic goods, people, customs, weapons and foreign magic. With rich, ambitious Merchant-Princes all around him, Bizantium’s colonies on the Shadow Coast in a state of near-revolt, and powers from the Western Empire to the Eastern Territory trying to exert their influence on the throne, the oblivious King Raedaen IV is in troubled waters – and the sharks are starting to gather.

Full timeline of the history of Bizantium, from its mythical founding to the kings, queens and high priests of the Northern Islands.

NEW! Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook One

– Formerly titled ‘UEEF Marines’

Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines sourcebook is set in space with the UEEF (United Earth Expeditionary Force) led by Admiral Rick Hunter. This valiant force of mecha clad heroes travel across the galaxy liberating planets from the bondage of the Invid Regent, the Robotech Masters and other tyrants and monsters.

Coming BACK IN PRINT – Rise of Magic™

A Rifts® Chaos Earth® Sourcebook – Fall

Rescheduled for a Fall release.

The return of magic has empowered humans with strange and wondrous powers, unlike anything quite yet seen (and different from most conventional types of magic). This only complicates things for Earth’s defenders as the line of distinction between “good guys” and “bad guys” begins to blur.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ – Coming to Stores Fall, 2014

This is the game Robotech® fans have wanted for decades.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games, or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top-notch game pieces.

Mecha vs Mecha. Take command of the fighting forces of the United Earth Defense Force (UEDF) valiantly defending Earth from alien annihilation. Or lead the massive clone armies of the Zentraedi Armada to recover an alien artifact of immense power and enslave humankind.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Box Set – Cat. No. 55100

Brought to you by Palladium Books®, created with Ninja Division (the creative minds behind Soda Pop Miniatures and Cipher Studios).

112 page, full color, softcover rule book. Includes an index and a comprehensive color guide for all Macross mecha in the series.

24 Battle Dice, 12 UEDF and 12 Zentraedi.

53 color game cards (unit cards, etc.).

4x VF-1A Valkyries (in Fighter, Guardian, and Battloid modes).

1x VF-1J "Officer" in all three modes.

4x Destroids: 2 Tomahawks and 2 Defenders.

12x Regult Zentraedi Battlepods.

1x Glaug Officer's Battlepod.

1x Quel-Regult Recon Battlepod.

1x Quel-Gulnau Recovery Pod.

1/285th scale, high quality, multi-pose plastic game pieces (40mm to 70mm tall). World-class sculpts from sculptors around the world.

Game rules use D6.

Turn-based system of play.

Scalable from small squad skirmishes to mass battles. Can accommodate two to several players.

Zentraedi Artillery Battlepods

Give your Zentraedi legion greater firepower with these artillery and support Battlepods; four figures total.

4 Zentraedi Support Battlepods, each of which can be made into any of the following:Gluuhaug-Regult – Light Artillery BattlepodSerauhaug-Regult – Heavy Artillery BattlepodTelnesta-Regult – Experimental Particle Beam BattlepodFour figures total.

Plastic game pieces require assembly and painting.

Not a toy. Small parts, choking hazard. Not recommended for children under the age of 13. Adult supervision advised.

Robotech® Macross® Saga Sourcebook – New 8½ x 11 size – Available now

All the famous mecha and action of Robotech® starts here with the Macross® Saga when an alien armada enters Earth orbit. They have come to reclaim a lost spacecraft that crash-landed on Earth 10 years earlier. A space fortress that Earth’s protectors have rebuilt into their own flagship against alien invasion. The resulting conflict gives birth to heroes and becomes the stuff of legend, but the Earth will never be the same. Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook is now available as an 8½ x 11 inch sourcebook.

Note: This is the setting for Robotech® RPG Tactics™, so if you’re looking for more information about the mecha, Earth’s defenders, the Zentraedi invaders, and Macross Saga setting, this is the book for you. Epic adventure awaits.

A Robotech® Role-Playing Game Sourcebook:

Transformable Veritech Fighters known as Valkyries take to the sky to defend the Earth.

PDF downloads from DriveThruRPG.com

This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve made 90 titles available as PDF digital downloads from DriveThruRPG.com. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include:

2015 Palladium Open House (POH) – May 14-17, 2015

The full description is in the online store and you can start purchasing your admission for the weekend or individual days as well as VIP Thursday (May 14, 2015). This write-up is just the highlights, please read the full description in the store.

Price of admission covers ALL EVENTS, except VIP Thursday. There are no extra fees for gaming events, panel talks or autographs.

$45 per person for the Three Day Weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday; May 15, 16 & 17) when ordered in advance per each individual. ($60 at the door and after April 12, 2015, if space is available.)

$25 for Friday, 9:00 AM till Closing (about midnight). Same price at the door, if space is available.

$25 for Saturday, 9:00 AM till Closing (about midnight). Same price at the door, if space is available.

$12 for Sunday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Same price at the door, if space is available.

$87 additional for VIP Night – Thursday – May 14, 2014. The VIP Night always sells out within weeks, so make your reservation as soon as possible. First-come, first-served. VIP Night is a special, one-evening event limited to around 120 gamers – 70 are available right now. VIP Thursday, May 14, 2014: 3:00 P.M. till 12:00 P.M. This event sells out every year in week or two (sometimes in a day or two). NOTE: As has become tradition, we hold a number of VIP slots to be offered at a later date – typically February – so that gamers who decide to attend at a later date have a chance at getting into the coveted VIP Night too. You get the delicious meal catered by Palladium’s very own Kathy Simmons (people rave about her meal), plus you get an extra afternoon and evening of gaming (opens late afternoon), a more intimate chance to talk with Palladium staff, artists and writers, and first crack at rare collectibles, prints and original art.

● 40+ Palladium creators. See the store description for details. In the past, the POH usually has 35-50 creators (writers, artists, editors, staff, Rifter contributors, etc.) attending. More than at any other convention or gathering anywhere, ever! And most are available to you almost the ENTIRE event to chat with you and sign autographs. Some will even run gaming events!

● 100+ gaming events. Game Masters/Megaversal Ambassadors NEEDED!

● Many games run by the people who make them, including Kevin Siembieda, Julius Rosenstein, Carmen Bellaire, Brandon Aten, Taylor White and many others!

● More panel talks than ever!

● Auction and more.

● A family reunion atmosphere.

● And it all happens at the Palladium warehouse and offices, where the magic happens! Okay, not quite “all.” When the gaming stops around 1:00 AM every night, the hotel has a large conference room where you maniacs can continue to game till you drop. There is room for at least 8 games in the room.

2015 Open House Hotel – reserve your rooms NOW!

You should reserve your hotel room now. Your card will not be charged until next May.

Comfort Inn

40455 Ann Arbor RoadPlymouth, MI 48170Phone: 734-455-8100

Group Code: Palladium Books – you MUST request the Group Code “Palladium Books” at the time of booking to ensure the correct rate will be quoted and billed to you.

Dates of the 2015 Palladium Open House (POH): May 15-17 (May 14 is VIP Thursday), 2015.

$109.00 (plus tax) per night at the Comfort Inn, a.k.a. “Plymouth Clock Tower Hotel.” That’s $109 (plus tax) for a room with two queen beds or one king with a sofa that has a pull-out sleeper. ALL rooms have a micro-fridge, FREE high-speed wired/wireless Internet and there is a FREE hot breakfast from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. near the lobby.

Reserve using Group Code Palladium Books sooner than later. The hotel has been remodeled, resulting in a smaller number of rooms. If you know you are coming to the 2015 Palladium Open House, we recommend you reserve your room as soon as possible to get this superior rate. Important Note: You MUST give them the Group Code: Palladium Books to get this rate. Call 734-455-8100 to make your reservation. The hotel does NOT charge your credit card until a few days before the event (next year!) and you can cancel up until May 10, 2015. So there is no reason to wait. Get your room(s) reserved right away. Besides, I suspect POH attendees could take EVERY room in the hotel next year, so the sooner they know that, the sooner they can put MORE rooms aside for us. They don’t believe we’ll sell out the hotel. Silly, new management. :)

The hotel also offers a heated indoor swimming pool, a fitness center (24 hours), and a coin operated laundry. And the large conference room is ours to use, around the clock, for open gaming.

This is the hotel everyone knows and wants. You can start placing hotel reservations for the 2015 Palladium Open House now. Make sure you tell them the Group Code “Palladium Books.” This is a must to get the superior group rate.